


This Edible Ain’t Shit

by NeopetsKid



Series: HLVRAI One-Shots [2]
Category: Half Life, Half Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware
Genre: Accidental Drug Use, Drug Use, Hurt/Comfort, Marijuana, Other, Paranoia, Post canon, They/Themrey, Weed Brownies, What if I.... ate your edibles... and we both used to be enemies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:47:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27144748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeopetsKid/pseuds/NeopetsKid
Summary: Sega PlayStation. AKA: Gordon left his weed brownies out.
Relationships: Benrey/Gordon Freeman
Series: HLVRAI One-Shots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1974760
Comments: 14
Kudos: 240





	This Edible Ain’t Shit

**Author's Note:**

> This entire fic is just Benrey getting really high and paranoid bc this is how I project.

Gordon approached his apartment with eager but exhausted steps. After a day of tutoring stressed out college students, the weight of the world came full force upon his shoulders. Gordon was no Atlas, however, and was only looking forward to kicking his shoes off and streaming something relaxing.

Opening the front door, he was not at all surprised by Benrey already sitting on the couch. They gave a half-hearted wave at his arrival.

“Hey, Benrey,” he sighed, taking off his jacket. “I thought I told you to text before you come over.”

“Oh yeah, sorry,” they muttered, not taking their eyes off the TV or their hands off the PS4 controller. 

Too tired to give them shit, Gordon mumbled something incoherent and shambled off to the bathroom.

Taking off his clothes haphazardly, he stepped into the shower. Sighing contentedly at the hot water hitting his body, he stood there for several minutes basking in the heat. The rivers of warmth ran down his body like a massage, easing his muscles and slackening his form. The constant sound of water rushing faded to background noise, and Gordon had to snap himself back upright as he began to nod off.

Shaking his head, Gordon quickly washed himself before he passed out in the shower. Stepping out and toweling himself off, he got dressed in a simple t-shirt and sweatpants before heading off towards the kitchen.

He walked past Benrey on the way, who was still mindlessly playing Minecraft. Fumbling for the light, Gordon made a beeline to the fridge.

Squinting at the harsh light, he looked over his meager choices. Some lunch meat, a few beers, and miscellaneous ingredients scattered the interior. Nothing that would serve as a snack. Closing the door with a huff, Gordon wandered over to the pantry where he grabbed a bag of chips. As he turned to head back to the living room, something on the counter grabbed his attention.

The aluminum foil wrapped around a pan was disturbed. Gordon inspected closer to find a square of his brownies missing. A square of his  _ weed _ brownies.

Panic building in his stomach, Gordon returned to the living room. He cleared his throat.

Benrey looked up at him. “Hey, did you eat one of my brownies?” He asked as calmly as possible.  _ Please don’t have taken them by accident. _

“Whuh?” Gordon gave them a look. They looked away sheepishly. “Uh, yeah, sorry. They looked good. I figured I shouldn’t take more than one.”

Gordon relaxed minutely.  _ They understand that they should only take one, that’s a good sign. _ He was about to ask if they knew they were edibles when Benrey spoke again.

“Tasted a bit shit, though. Kinda off. You use a new recipe?”

Gordon’s heart skipped a beat. Doing his best to maintain a calm appearance, he pressed on. “Benrey. That was an edible.”

They rolled their eyes. “Yeah, I know it’s edible dude, I fucking ate it. Didn’t eat any of the um. Metal blanket.”

“No, it was an  _ edible _ . Like, a weed brownie,” Gordon explained, gesturing vaguely to try and explain.

They looked up, alarmed. “Bro, you put grass in that? Gross. Grassman.”

Gordon slapped a hand to his forehead, groaning. Benrey paused in their mine, looking at him, eyebrows furrowed.

“You good, dude?” They asked.

_ How the fuck do I explain this. _ Gordon sighed heavily, sitting down on the couch next to them. He put his hand on their shoulder, not missing the way they looked at him. “It’s weed, Benrey. The drug. You just ate drugged brownies.”

A flicker of fear sparked behind their eyes, quickly replaced with a forced blank expression. “Drugs.” They repeated.

“Yeah,” Gordon said. “You’re gonna get really high from this.”

“It’s not gonna- not gonna make me go… sleepy, is it?” The fear returned.

Gordon shrugged. “Not really? You’ll mostly just be relaxed and kind of out of it. But it doesn’t make you pass out.”

They relaxed minutely. “Okay. Um. Sorry I ate them.”

“I don’t care about that, man,” he reassured them. “I just didn’t want… this. I’m fine with you taking my drugs but not if you don’t know what you’re doing.”

They shrugged. Gordon removed his hand from their shoulder and they looked away. “It’s fine,” they mumbled. “Just gonna be relaxed, right? That’s okay. You wanna play Minecraft?”

Gordon nodded. Benrey handed him a controller and the two settled in. Gordon immediately moved his bed away from Benrey’s where they had placed it, to their great and loud dismay. Gordon shot some retort hack, and made his way over to the mine they had built. The two spent their time in the mine, collecting ore and narrowly avoiding dying. Benrey took noticeable pleasure in killing the skeletons.

Benrey became quieter and quieter as the night went on. Checking his phone, Gordon tweeted out an apology for not streaming, not wanting to leave Benrey alone their first time being high off their ass.

Benrey placed their head on Gordon’s shoulder. “Feel weird,” they mumbled, rotating their character in circles.

“Yeah?” Gordon replied, putting his phone away. “How so?”

They didn’t reply for a minute, engrossed in a patch of flowers. “Head spinny,” they said eventually. “Feels like… lab. Like…”

They trailed off, leaving a Gordon to laugh nervously and urge them to follow him in-game. They did so, frequently becoming distracted in the process. Gordon didn’t pressure them, amused by their fascination with small details. Benrey sank further against him, leaving his hand sweaty and heart beating a little faster than normal.

Benrey continued to mumble half-formed sentences that Gordon turned out. Eventually, he noticed them moving more often, shifting uncomfortably against him. He was about to ask why when their stomach grumbled loudly.

Gordon laughed. Benrey flushed a dark color. “Uh, snack time? Food snacks please? And thank you?” They asked, looking up at Gordon, their slit pupils blown wide, nearly turning their eyes entirely black. 

Gordon snickered, setting down his controller. “Sure. I’ll make some dinner. Mac and cheese sound good?”

“Hell yeah, maccy… cheace,” they muttered as Gordon made his way back to the kitchen.

Gordon found a box of mac and cheese and quickly got to work. Setting a pot of water on the stovetop to boil, he pulled out his phone and checked Twitter. Several of his followers expressed sadness that he wasn’t streaming, but most wished him luck with his “friend problem” as he had put it. He scrolled absentmindedly through his feed for several minutes.

Eventually, the water came to a boil. Gordon tossed in the noodles and lowered the heat, stirring occasionally. He could hear Benrey talking to themself in the other room. 

Ignoring them, he checked the news.  _ Same stressful shit as always, _ he mused, swiping past several stories too heavy to deal with. He settled on an article detailing the plans for replacing Black Mesa once the radiation died down. 

Had he been paying more attention to his surroundings, perhaps Gordon might have noticed Benrey’s voice become louder and more panicked, with Gordon’s own name becoming more frequent as well. However, standing there idly mixing the water and reading the news, Gordon didn’t notice anything until Benrey burst into the kitchen, eyes wide.

Gordon started, setting his phone down. “Hey, the mac and cheese will be ready in a second-”

“You’re still here?” Benrey interrupted, sounding panicked. 

Gordon frowned, taking in their appearance. They were tense, fists clenched and eyes large and glancing around nervously.

“Of course I’m still here. Are you okay?”

That had been the wrong thing to say. They flinched visibly, backing up.

“You’re  _ in _ on this?” Benrey said breathlessly. Before Gordon could respond they barked out a harsh laugh. “Of course you are! I got-got your hand all fucked. All off and gone. It’s  _ gone _ ! Of course you’d want me the same!”

“What- I don’t want you gone!” Gordon exclaimed, taking a few steps forward. Benrey backed up further and shook their head violently.

“Yes you do!” They said. “It’s all-all part of the plan! Getting me like this, all  _ cozy _ . And then all sleepy, all sleepy for the  _ lab _ .” They laughed, clutching their hair. “You’re-you’re a scientist, of course you want that.”

Gordon’s mind raced at the implications of their rant, but luckily, as per usual his mouth ran faster than his brain. “No I don’t! I want to make you dinner and play video games!”

Benrey laughed wildly again. “That’s exactly what you’d say to trick me!”

“I’m not trying to trick you!”

“Mlemnehnehmneh,” they retorted, making little talking motions with their hands. “You’re not taking me back to Black Mesa. I’m not-not stupid.”

“Benrey, Black Mesa is  _ gone _ ,” Gordon said, walking closer. They didn’t back up this time. “It fucking- it’s obliterated, dude. There’s no way I could make you go back there, there  _ is _ no Black Mesa anymore.”

Benrey let go of their hair, looking close to tears. “Then why-why-“

They cut themself off. Gordon looked at them as they scratched at their arms, eyes looking everywhere but at him. Benrey opened their mouth several times as if about to say something, but cut themself off each time.

“Look,” Gordon tried again, setting what he hoped was a comforting hand on their shoulder. “I’m just making food. I think- I think the brownie you ate is making you paranoid. That happens sometimes and it’s fine, it’ll pass. How about you stay in here with me so you can watch what I do? Make sure I’m not doing anything suspicious?”

They frowned, body relaxing minutely under Gordon’s hand. Gordon waited as they stood there, clearly thinking his words over deeply. Finally, Benrey nodded, still not meeting his eyes.

“Okay. Make sure you don't um. Steal anything,” they muttered.

Gordon cracked a smile. “Yeah, dude, you do that.” He removed his hand from their shoulder and beckoned them to follow him. They did so, albeit rather hesitantly.

Gordon returned to the stovetop, stirring the pot before fishing out a noodle. He placed it on the counter, planning to let it cool off before testing it when Benrey simply picked it up and shoved it in their mouth. Gordon swatted then away just a second too late.

They chewed thoughtfully. Gordon stared at them. “Ow,” they said insightfully. 

Gordon laughed. “You gotta wait for it to cool down before testing it!” 

They blinked at him slowly. “Huh- _ no _ ,” was their only retort. Gordon snorted, fishing out another noodle and placing it on his other side where Benrey couldn’t reach.

The two made their meal in relative silence. Benrey zoned out even more than usual, face turning blank and eyes far away. Although slightly disconcerting, Gordon certainly preferred it to the panic they had exhibited earlier.

Gordon served them both and led Benrey back to the living room. They followed in a daze as he sat on the couch and turned on some sitcom. Had they been sober, they probably would’ve commented on the rarity of Gordon letting them eat on the couch. 

The pair ate together as the show played on. Benrey only ate half of their food, but Gordon considered it a blessing they were able to concentrate long enough to eat at all. He took the bowl out of their hands gently and set it on the coffee table.

At some point, Benrey started leaning against Gordon again. He could feel their already inhumanly slow breathing get slower as the night moved on. They kept jolting themself from the brink of sleep, stirring with a gasp every time they did.

After several repeats of the motion, Gordon spoke up. “Hey,” he whispered. Benrey tensed. “Black Mesa is gone. You can sleep. Nothing’s gonna happen.”

They let out a huff of breath, as if laughing in disbelief. Nonetheless, they relaxed against him as they slowly drifted off to sleep.

Laying there with their weight holding him down, Gordon mused that the two of them still had a lot to talk about. But for now, squished together on the couch as episodes of New Girl played out in the background, Gordon couldn’t bring himself to disturb the peace.

**Author's Note:**

> Uhh yeah lmao. Kudos are great, comments sustain me!
> 
> Edit: now with FANART?? WHAT!! :PogChamp:  
> https://blue-ghost-tunes.tumblr.com/post/633665821139468288/two-drawings-from-a-fanfic-i-read-and-one-on-what


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